Before & After: Brrr...Cold!!

(The 3D nail gems in this post were provided for my honest review. All other products were purchased with my own money.)

Hello!!

This week's theme in the Kimber's Mish Mash Challenge is: Cold! I thought a bit about this, and came to two conclusions.

First, as I was swatching Mentality's Seduce, I decided that needed to be my base polish (Mentality review coming soon!). For now, here is a quick look at this gorgeous cerulean blue holo:

Mentality Seduce, 2 coats, direct sunlight

Second, I decided this would be the perfect time to pull out some 3D nail art gems that Born Pretty Store sent me for review. Here is the set; there are three each of 12 different gems, all in assorted colors:

And here they are next to one of my nubbins, so you can see the size of the gems:

I wanted to do something that looked like a snowy winter's morning, with snowflakes and icicles. I put a coat of Lynbdesigns Stella, a white flakie, over Seduce, to give the look of a soft snowfall. Then I set out to create my icicles...

For three of the nails, I used silver white hexes that look a bit like crystals to me; I positioned them down the nail and threw on a couple of teeny white beads. For the accent nail, I put one of the white nail gems at the top of the nail, and put two white half-pearls under it. Under that, I put two small white beads. Around the design I put more clear hexes:

I love how this came out; I think the silvery hexes have a soft translucent look that is reminiscent of how my California girl brain thinks icicles might look. The accent nail is bold and over-the-top which is what I think of when I think of 3D nail art. No matter what, it definitely captures the feel of 'Cold'!

So what did I think of the nail gems? As you can see, the white gems were one of the smaller sizes of nail gem. These worked really well for me, no problems adhering them to the nail, and it seems to be staying put fairly well. One potential worry for me with the bigger gems is that I have very, very curved nail beds, so the gems will not sit flat on my nails--if you have flatter nail beds, you will have no problem. However, since getting these, I've been paying special attention to how people use gems like this, and they generally surround them with other gems; if I did that, the gap along the side of the gems would be masked and wouldn't really be a problem. So, if you have flatter nails, or are interested in using the gems in a look that could mask a gap, this will be a good set for you. If you have very small nails, or very curvy nails like me and hope to wear the gems alone, you might want to look for a set that has only smaller gems.

Since my intention is mainly for 3D nail art looks, I'm happy with the set and would certainly pay the listed price for them. I love looking down and seeing something that looks like a real gem sitting on my nail--so pretty and different!

As always, I have an awesome coupon code that you can use at Born Pretty Store for all your nail art supplies (and anything else on their site):

I don't make any money from your purchase and am not affiliated, but if my code is used enough, Born Pretty will sponsor a giveaway for my followers. :)

Thanks for taking a look, and please don't forget to check out all the cold manis linked below. :)

Hugs and love,
M.

(The 3D nail gems in this post were provided for my honest review. All other products were purchased with my own money.)